Rhiannon's Story
by countrysunshine
Summary: After the death of her mother, Rhiannon leaves her hometown to start a new life... what happens when she meets Paul, who just happens to be a widowed minister..
1. Chapter 1

Rhiannon slammed her fists on the steering wheel and cussed. She was already late for her interview, and now this piece of crap car had quit on her again. She got out of the car and raised the hood, met by a blast of steam.

"Looks like you busted a gasket." She turned to her left and met a pair of blue eyes.

"I can see that." She spat, turning her attention back to the car. "guess I will have to call a tow truck."

"I can fix it for you…"

"No thanks."

Rhiannon pulled her cell phone from her pocket and finally found a towing company. She leaned against the hood of the car and waited, left alone with her thoughts. For Rhiannon, being left alone with your thoughts could prove to be dangerous. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she replayed the past few days in her mind.

_Rhiannon groped in the dark for the ringing telephone, and clicked the light on. "Hullo" she mumbled, squinting to read the clock. _

_"Hey" it was her dad, "you need to get over here as soon as you can, your mama.." his voice cracked, and Rhiannon knew what had happened. Her mother had been in ill health for a number of years, and Rhiannon had been expecting a call like this for a long time._

_She stood in the cemetery, staring at the grey coffin that held her mother's lifeless body, and felt nothing. She heard the whispers of her sisters, talking behind her back as always, that Rhiannon had shown no emotion at all, she never loved mama. If they hadn't been standing in the cemetery she likely would have bawled them all three out. They thought they were so perfect, all three of them. Rhiannon had wanted to run around her house and cheer when she got the news that her sister's husband had screwed around on her and they had divorced. Served her right. Rhiannon turned and gave her oldest sister a hard glare before telling her father that she was going home. He had wanted her to come back to his house, but she told him no, she would call him later. She climbed into her truck and drove home. Later that night, Rhiannon checked her email. She had applied for a job in Vermont, and the advertiser wanted to set up a phone interview with her. She quickly dialed the number, and apologized for not getting back sooner, then explained about her mothers death._

_"I am so sorry, if you need a few days..."_

_"No, I will be on the first flight out."_

_Rhiannon hung the phone up and booked the first flight to Vermont. She prayed with everything she had to get the job. _

Now, she found herself on a deserted road, in the middle of nowhere, in a rental car that had crapped out on her. Something had told her not to rent from that place, but it was cheap. Her grandmother's words echoed in her ears, "Cheap doesn't always mean good." She called the woman with whom she had the interview and told her she would be a little late.

The tow truck had finally arrived, along with a new rental car. Rhiannon transferred her bags into the back of the car and headed in the direction of the Bed and Breakfast where she hoped to soon be working.

Rhiannon pulled up in front of a huge house surrounded by Apple Trees and got out of the car. The front porch reminded her of summers spent at her aunt's house in Georgia. She climbed the steps and knocked on the door. A plump grey haired woman answered the door.

"Hello, I am Rhiannon..."

"Yes, yes, come on in." the woman closed the door and led her into a huge parlor, "you get your car fixed?" she motioned for Rhiannon to sit.

"Actually it was a rental, they brought me a new one."

"Oh." She nodded and extended her hand, "I am Millie."

"Nice to meet you." Rhiannon sighed, "I don't want to seem desperate, but I really need this job."

"Well, as I told you on the phone, I need a cook, but you would also need to help out, you know, cleaning rooms, harvesting crops, that sort of thing."

Rhiannon nodded, "I would need a place to stay.."

"Oh you can stay here." the woman's face lit up, and Rhiannon turned to see the same blonde haired, blue eyed man who had stopped on the side of the road.

"Come on in here, and meet Rhiannon." she slid an arm around him, "This is Paul my son."

He smiled and gave his mother a squeeze, "We sort of already met."

Rhiannon felt her face get hot and she looked at the floor. "Well big mouth" She said quietly to herself, "you can kiss this job goodbye."

"Did you get the car towed or whatever you were trying to do?" he snickered.

Rhiannon mumbled a yes, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Well, your first job is going to be to cook supper for us." Mille nodded toward the kitchen, "we don't have guests right now, but we hope to soon.."

Rhiannon gave her a shocked look, "I thought this was an operating Bed and Breakfast."

"Oh no, I, well, we just bought this place, it hasn't been a open for years."

Rhiannon leaned against the wall and cussed under her breath. She had given up a job, a good job in Florida, for this. "Well, you better knock their dang tastebuds out." she walked into the kitchen and started dinner preparations. She had decided to cook Veal Picatta with Au Gratin potatoes and fried zucchini. For dessert, she whipped up an apple cobbler. She stood in the kitchen silently praying that they liked her food, if not, she didn't know what the heck she would do.

"Well." Mille laid her napkin on the table and looked over at her son, "what do you think?"

"She can cook." he leaned back, "but her attitude... well." he made a face.

"She just lost her mother." Millie's kind eyes teared, "that enough is probably hard on her, coupled with the fact that she just uprooted herself and came here, not knowing if there was even a job or not."

"Well." Paul stood up and pecked his mother on the cheek, "its up to you, but.." he shrugged, "she is gonna have to lose the whole chip on her shoulder thing." He started toward the parlor, "I need to get the living room set up for Bible study tonight."

Mille carried her plate and glass to the sink and looked out the window. She could see Rhiannon, leaned up against one of the apple trees in the back yard. She hoped she wasn't making a mistake. She dried her hands and stepped out the back door.

"Well," Millie smiled at her, "as far as I am concerned, you have got the job."

"Thank you." Rhiannon wrapped her arms around the woman's neck.

"Well, Paul is readying the parlor for our weekly Bible study group, if you would like to join us."

"I um, actually I really need to contact the movers, you know, to have my clothes and things sent here."

Millie patted her arm, "I understand."

Rhiannon walked back toward the house. She stole a glance at Paul, who was setting up the chairs. He wasn't bad looking at all. Rhiannon just could make out the faint hint of a tan line where his wedding ring should have been and shook her head. "Bible study." She scoffed, and walked upstairs.

Rhiannon laid on the bed, thinking about her childhood, and how her mama was about them going to church. If the preacher was washing the windows, they filled their pew and watched him wash them. It didn't matter what was going on, they had to be there. If she or any of her sisters dared say they were sick, they better be prepared to throw up and prove it, and even then, they went to church. Rhiannon had accepted the Lord when she was 16, and did her best for the remainder of her teenage years to serve and follow Him. She had lived watching her mother act very religious at church, but like the devil at home. Rhiannon had made up her mind that church was no longer for her. Her mother had become a stumbling block, and Rhiannon wanted no part of church. She started attending parties with friends, and living "wild" as her mother had said.

Rhiannon had often wondered what had made her daddy marry her mother, but more than that, why he had chosen to live with her all those years. She berated him, and didn't mind at all calling him stupid in front of a room full of people. Rhiannon had snooped through her oldest sister's baby book one summer and after doing some quick math, pretty much figured out why her parents had gotten married... five months ahead of the arrival of her oldest sister Roxanne. Rhiannon had never figured out why her mother had not been honest with her and her sisters. Instead, she commanded perfection out of all four of them. Thanks to her mother, and other events in her life, Rhiannon wanted no part of church. She knew who God was, and she believe that Jesus had died on the cross for her sins, but she had not picked her Bible up in eons, and couldn't remember the last time she had earnestly prayed.

"Well, looks like you have got everything set up." Millie patted Paul on the back, "I am so glad you decided to come here."

"Well," he sat down and ran his hand through his hair, "after Juliette died, I just didn't feel like Virginia was home anymore." he patted his mother's arm and smiled, "glad I came here too." He looked up toward the bedroom Rhiannon was staying in. "just wish she would join us."

"I think that girl is dealing with some pretty big hurts son." Millie nodded, "just give her time."

Millie got up to answer the door as the guests from their church started to arrive for Bible study. She heard the back door click and hoped that Rhiannon would decide to join them. She started to walk to the kitchen but then thought better of it. She didn't want to seem pushy.

Rhiannon stopped at the bottom of the stairs, when she heard Paul's prayer, and the mention of her name, "What the heck is he praying for me for?" Rhiannon was a little ticked off. She stood there for a moment and then made her way up to her room. She glanced out the back window at the lake that ran behind the house and sighed, "I hope I don't regret coming here."


	2. Chapter 2

Rhiannon hung the last shirt up in the closet and zipped the suitcase up. The weather here was different that the weather in Florida, and she still couldn't believe how comfortable it was at the end of June. If she had been home, the windows wouldn't have been open and the air would have been blasting.

"You finally get everything unpacked?" Rhiannon turned and smiled at Millie who had stuck her head in the door.

"Finally."

"Well, I am headed to church, wish you would come with me,"

"Church isn't for me." Rhiannon shook her head, "way too many hypocrites."

Mille bit back the comment she was about to make and nodded. Rhiannon was right, if you were looking for hypocritical judgmental people, church was the right place to look. She nodded and smiled, "Well, if you ever change your mind, we would love to have you, Paul is an excellent minister."

"Paul?" Rhiannon jerked her head around, "your son is a preacher?"

Millie nodded and laughed, "Yes he is, and a very good one, if I might say."

"Well, I was thinking of having lunch prepared when you get home." Rhiannon folded a nightgown and tucked it into a drawer, "what would you like."

"Whatever is fine." Mille smiled and nodded, "see you soon."

Rhiannon stood at the door and watched Millie climb into Paul's blue chevy truck. "Since when does a preacher wear jeans to church?" she said to herself, as she watched him walk around to the passenger side. They were always dressed to the nine, even when it was cold. you still had to wear a dress.

Rhiannon made her way downstairs and dug through the deep freezer. She pulled out a package of chicken and stuck it in the microwave to thaw, then cut open a bag of green beans. She was cutting up potatoes thinking about Sunday dinners after church. She remembered these awesome rolls her mother use to make and after tossing the last potato into the pot, she started gathering up the ingredients for the rolls.

Paul shook hands with the last member of the congregation and went back inside to be sure the lights were off and the doors were locked. He noticed Beth, the piano player, standing near the front of the church.

"Nice service today." she smiled at him, striking a sexy pose.

"Glad you enjoyed it."

"Paul." she said, twirling her hair around her finger.

He was caught offguard. She usually called him Pastor Edwards.

"Yes."

"I was wondering, if maybe, well... would you like to have dinner with me?"

"Uh, um sorry Beth, I think Rhiannon has dinner waiting for mother and I."

"Who's Rhiannon?"

"Mother hired her, to help out in the kitchen." he smiled and tossed his hand up, "I really have to go, see you tonight."

Millie put her seatbelt on, giving her son a sideways glare.

"I DO NOT like that woman.

He sighed, "I know mother," he pulled onto the highway, "you have made that quite clear."

"She is trouble Paul."

"Mother..."

"What did she want?"

"To have dinner."

"Well, I hope to the heaven's you told her no."

"I did."

"Good," Millie straightened her skirt, "We don't need the likes of her sniffing around." Millie shook her finger, "You know what I heard about her..."

"And YOU know I hate gossip." he gave his mother a look, "Peoples opinions of someone mean nothing."

"Well, you can do better."

Paul put the truck in park, inhaling deeply when he got out. "I smell fried chicken."

Millie shut the truck door, crooking her arm through his, "Rhiannon would be good for you."

Paul laughed and patted his mother's arm, "Don't you go playing matchmaker," he kissed her cheek, "besides, God is handling that."

Rhiannon had just finished setting the table when Paul and his mother walked into the dining room.

"Rhiannon, this smells wonderful." Millie sat down and put her napkin in her lap.

"It sure does." Paul said the blessing before taking a bite of green beans, "tastes as good as it smells." He looked up at Rhiannon and smiled.

"Well, you two enjoy."

"Wait a minute." Millie called out to her, "Sit down and eat."

"Oh, I ate already,"

Millie sighed and shook her head, "I wish I knew what had happened to that child to cause her to be so..."

"Bitter."

"No, unreachable."

Paul settled in the parlor with his guitar. Millie laid her head back, keeping tempo with her foot to the song he was playing. Rhiannon was about to go upstairs to her room when someone knocked on the door.

"Hello." Rhiannon half smiled at the woman, "can I help you."

"I was looking for Paul." She extended her hand, "I am Beth, I play piano at the church."

"Oh," Rhiannon invited her in, "He and his mom are in the parlor." Rhiannon motioned for her to join them and went up to her room.

She slammed her bedroom door, feeling a pang of jealousy. "What is the matter with you." She said to her reflection in the mirror. "he's nothing to you."

Still, she couldn't help but resist the urge to punch Beth's lights out as she laid on her bed, preparing to read a book.

Millie walked Beth to the door, stepping out on the porch closing the door behind her.

"I want you to know, I don't appreciate you coming by unannounced."

"Sorry," Beth shrugged, "Paul asked me..."

"Stay away from my son, do you hear me." Millie's eyes flashed fire. "you are the last thing he needs."

"Well, if God means for us to be together,"

"If God hears my prayers child, and I know he does, you and Paul will not be together."

Millie went back inside, slamming the door behind her.


End file.
